USS Goldsborough DDG-20

The USS Goldsborough (DDG-20), a Charles F. Adams class guided missile destroyer, served in the U.S. Navy from Vietnam through the Persian Gulf Wars.  She was built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Company in Seattle, Washington; launched on December 15, 1961; and commissioned on November 9, 1963 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington.

USS Goldsborough was 437 feet long, with a beam of 47 feet, and a 22 foot draft.  She joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet on December 25, 1963 as a unit of the Cruiser-Destroyer Force.  She called Pearl Harbor, Hawaii her homeport.

In August 1966, USS Goldsborough entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for overhaul and extensive modification.  She then participated in “Operation Sea Dragon” for which she was awarded the Naval Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service in Vietnam.

USS Goldsborough also participated in the American space program as member of the Apollo 11 Recovery Mission team.  The command module “Columbia” splashed down about 200 nautical miles south of Johnston Island on July 24, 1969 and the crew of the Goldborough joined in the celebration of the first men to walk on the moon.

In December 1972, while conducting a combat mission in Vietnamese waters, USS Goldsborough was hit by coastal artillery fire.  The shore battery put a hole five feet wide through an upper deck. The ship’s crew received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for their service.  Upon her return to Pearl Harbor in 1974, she underwent major overhaul.

From 1983 to 1984, the USS Goldsborough was modernized extensively at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.  In September 1990, she made the first seizure of an Iraqi ship during Operation Desert Shield.  She was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessels Register on April 29, 1993 after thirty years of brave and faithful service.

Asbestos Exposure on the USS Goldsborough

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, many American Navy guided missile destroyers such as the USS Goldsborough had asbestos installed for insulation and fire control.  Many of our clients worked on the Goldsborough during its repairs at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.  Although they did not realize the danger at the time, the men who repaired and maintained the equipment on the Goldsborough were exposed to deadly asbestos dust.  Thousands of Navy veterans and shipyard workers were put at risk for asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma as a result.